NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Joe Barton

Joseph Linus "Joe" Barton (born September 15, 1949) is a Republican politician, representing Texas's 6th congressional district (map) in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1985. Image File history File linksMetadata Joe_Linus_Barton-Congressman. ... Seal of the House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives (or simply the House) is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress, the other being the Senate. ... Official language(s) No Official Language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area Ranked 2nd - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 kmÂ²) - Width 773 miles (1,244 km) - Length 790 miles (1,270 km) - % water 2. ... The current boundaries of Texas District 6. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... William Philip Phil Gramm (born July 8, 1942, in Fort Benning, Georgia) served as a Democratic Congressman (1978-1983), a Republican Congressman (1983-1985) and a Republican Senator from Texas (1985-2002). ... September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... Waco is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. ... The Republican Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. ... The Methodist movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity. ... September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... The Republican Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. ... The current boundaries of Texas District 6. ... Seal of the House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives (or simply the House) is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress, the other being the Senate. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Barton was born in Waco, Texas to Bess Wynell Buice and Larry Linus Barton.^[1] He graduated from Waco High School. He attended Texas A&M University in College Station and received a B.S. in industrial engineering in 1972. An M.Sc. in industrial administration from Purdue University followed in 1973. Following college Barton entered private industry until 1981 when he became a White House Fellow and served under Secretary of Energy James B. Edwards. Later, he began consulting for Atlantic Richfield Oil and Gas Co. before being elected to Congress in 1984. Waco is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. ... Texas A&M University, often called A&M or TAMU for short, is a public, coeducational, research university located in College Station, Texas, USA. It is the flagship[4] institution of the Texas A&M University System. ... City nicknames: Aggieland, heart of the Research Valley Location in the State of Texas County Brazos County Mayor Ron Silvia Area - Land - Water 104. ... A bachelors degree (Artium Baccalaureus, A.B. or B.A.) is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts for three, four, or in some cases and countries, five or six years. ... Industrial engineering is a branch in engineering that concerns the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, knowledge, equipment, energy, material and process. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate course of one or two years in duration. ... Purdue redirects here. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The White House Fellows program was established by American President Lyndon B. Johnson in October 1964. ... The United States Secretary of Energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, concerned as the name suggests, with The Secretary is a member of the Presidents Cabinet. ... James Burrows Edwards (born June 24, 1927) is an American politician and administrator. ... ARCO (formerly Atlantic Richfield Company), officially BP West Coast Products LLC, is an American oil company that is a subsidiary of BP. The Atlantic brand was spun off for ARCOs East Coast stations, and was acquired by Sunoco. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Barton was elected to represent Texas's Sixth Congressional seat in his first attempt, defeating Democratic challenger Dan Kubiak with 56 percent of the vote in a contest to succeed Phil Gramm, who left his seat to run for the United States Senate that year. He received 88 percent of the vote in 2000, 71 percent of the vote in 2002 against Democratic challenger Felix Alvarado, and 66 percent of the vote in 2004 against Democratic challenger Morris Meyer. The Democratic Party is one of two major political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. ... William Philip Phil Gramm (born July 8, 1942, in Fort Benning, Georgia) served as a Democratic Congressman (1978-1983), a Republican Congressman (1983-1985) and a Republican Senator from Texas (1985-2002). ... Seal of the U.S. Senate Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures State Courts Counties, Cities, and Towns Other countries Politics Portal Senate composition following 2006 elections The United States Senate is... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1993, Barton ran in the special election for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the resignation of Lloyd Bentsen, who became secretary of the treasury in the Clinton administration. Barton finished third in the contest and missed a runoff slot. 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... A by-election or bye-election is a special election held to fill a political office when the incumbent has died or resigned. ... Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. ...

Congressman Barton is the Ranking Minority Member on the Energy & Commerce Committee. The U.S. House Commerce Committee on Energy and Commerce residing at 2125 Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC is the oldest (208 years) legislative standing committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. ...

Legislative Work

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Pub. ... MTBE is highly flammable and is widely used as an oxygenate. ... The National Voting Rights Act of 1965 ()[1] outlawed the requirement that would-be voters in the United States take literacy tests to qualify to register to vote, and it provided for federal registration of voters in areas that had less than 50% of eligible minority voters registered. ...

Climate change

Rep. Barton has been regarded as a "skeptic" on global warming^[4] and his opposition to addressing global warming has been consistent and long-term. As a powerful chairman with primary responsibility over the energy sector, Barton has consistently acted over the years to prevent congressional action on global warming. In 2001, Barton declared, "as long as I am chairman, (regulating global warming pollution) is off the table indefinitely. I don't want there to be any uncertainty about that."^[5] Barton led opposition to amendments that would have recognized global warming during consideration of the Energy Advancement and Conservation Act in 2001, opposing an amendment to require the President to develop and implement a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels as called for by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which the U.S. is a party to.^[6] In 2003, Barton again opposed amendments that would have recognized global warming during consideration of the National Energy Policy Act of 2003, opposing a nonbinding amendment that would have put Congress on record as saying that the U.S. should "demonstrate international leadership and responsibility in reducing the health, environmental, and economic risks posed by climate change."^[7] In July 2003, Barton offered an amendment to the Foreign Relations Authorization Act to remove language that both recognized global warming and called on President Bush to reengage with the international community to find solutions.^[8] In addition, Barton has consistently opposed proposals to reduce the nation's dependence on oil – a chief contributor to global warming.^[9]^[10]^[11]

Recently, prompted by a February 2005 Wall Street Journal article,^[12] Rep. Barton has launched an investigation into two climate change studies from 1998 and 1999.^[13] This has been widely regarded as an attack on the scientists rather than a serious attempt to understand the science,^[14]^[15] although some view it as a normal exercise of the committee's responsibility and an effort to make possible scientific debate on a subject within its jurisdiction.^[16]^[17] The Washington Post condemned Barton's investigation as a "witch hunt".^[18] The Houston Chronicle said that Barton was harassing researchers.^[19] The National Academy of Sciences referred to Barton's investigation as potentially "intimidating" to researchers.^[20] A story in Environmental Science & Technology also reported on an obscure policy journal often cited by politicians, including Barton, as scientific proof that global warming science is wrong.^[21] See also Barton's own response to this controversy in the Dallas Morning News^[22] (registration may be required). The dispute expanded with Sherwood Boehlert's House Science Committee taking a strong interest^[23] The Wall Street Journal is an influential international daily newspaper published in New York City, New York with an average daily circulation of 1,800,607 (2002). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... 1533 account of the execution of a witch charged with burning the town of Schiltach in 1531. ... Rep. ...

A hearing was held by Barton's Energy and Commerce Committee on July 19, 2006, chaired by Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY) Chair of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, where several skeptics testified regarding the hockey stick graph. The RealClimate blog responded to being mentioned at the hearing.^[24] July 19 is the 200th day (201st in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 165 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... The temperature record of the past 1000 years describes the attempts to create a global temperature-record for the last 1000 years. ... RealClimate is a commentary site (blog) on climate science by working climate scientists for the interested public and journalists. ...

During Former Vice President Al Gore's testimony to the Energy and Commerce Committee in March, 2007, Barton asserted to Gore that "You're not just off a little, you're totally wrong,"^[25] thus denying that carbon dioxide emissions contribute to global climate change. A vice president is an officer in government or business who is next in rank below a president. ... Albert Arnold Gore, Jr. ... In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. ... The U.S. House Commerce Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committees of the U.S. House of Representatives. ...

Family

Barton divorced his first wife, the former Janet Sue Winslow, with whom he has three children, in 2003. Janet received some media attention as a victim of identity theft. Barton has used her as an example when discussing identity theft legislation. He is now married to Terri Barton, and they have one child, Jack, who was born in 2005. Identity theft is a term first appearing in U.S. literature in the 1990s, leading to the drafting of the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act. ...

Health issues

Barton's office announced that, on Thursday December 15, 2005, he suffered a heart attack and was taken to George Washington University Hospital. December 15 is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The George Washington University (GWU) is a private university in Washington, D.C., founded in 1821 as The Columbian College. ...

Quotes

Medicaid is the US health insurance program for individuals and families with low incomes and resources. ... Health care or healthcare is the prevention, treatment, and management of illness and the preservation of mental and physical well-being through the services offered by the medical, nursing, and allied health professions. ... The Washington Times[1] is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., United States. ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... ChoicePoint (NYSE: CPS) is a corporation based in Alpharetta, near Atlanta, Georgia, USA, which claims to be the nations leading supplier of identification and credential verification services. According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the firm keeps more than 17 billion records of individuals and businesses, which it sells... Nexis redirects here. ... November 3 is the 307th day of the year (308th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 58 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. ... July 11 is the 192nd day (193rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 173 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 16 is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 45 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Lebanese political coalition, see March 14 Alliance. ... 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Criticism

On September 26, 2005, Barton introduced the Gasoline for America's Security Act of 2005 to the House of Representatives in what he said was a response to the present energy crisis. The most significant part of the bill gave the authority for the government to subsidize the construction of new refineries for petrochemical companies, despite the fact that the oil companies had intentionally been closing down refineries for years prior to the hurricanes. It would allow for oil companies to construct refineries on military bases and government controlled areas offshore. The bill also included a clause in which several environmental restrictions on the oil companies would be repealed September 26 is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box: House of Representatives is a name used for legislative bodies in many countries. ...

The bill passed by two votes on October 7, 2005, with a narrow 212-210 vote. The bill, which was supposed to be open for vote for only five minutes, was held on the floor for almost 50 minutes, to the chagrin of Democrats who chanted "Shame! Shame!"[1] During that time, the Washington Post reported that Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex) twisted the arms of moderate Republicans who were originally opposed to the legislation, ultimately convincing them to vote for the bill. Environmentalists and their allies from both parties argued that the country could not stand any relaxation of the Clean Air Act. October 7 is the 280th day of the year (281st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States; the other being the Republican Party. ... ... Thomas Dale DeLay (born April 8, 1947) is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Sugar Land, Texas. ... In politics and religion, a moderate is an individual who holds an intermediate position between two extreme or radical viewpoints. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

The critics argued that the oil companies themselves should be paying the construction costs of new refineries in a year when they were getting ready to announce industry-record profits, especially since they had been the ones who shut down now-needed refineries just four years earlier.

From 1995 to 2001, American oil companies shut down 24 oil refineries along the West Coast. Gas prices in the mid-1990s were low — too low for the likes of the oil companies. Refineries were operating efficiently, producing large quantities of gasoline and therefore cheapening the cost of gas at the pump.

According to opensecrets.org, a watchdog group that monitors monetary contributions to politicians, Barton alone has received close to $2 million in campaign contributions from energy companies and their political action committees since he has been in office. The oil and gas industry has been the top industry contributor to his campaign. This does not include contributions from individuals who work for petrochemical companies, though. Last year, employees from Anadarko Petroleum alone, contributed $50,000, opensecrets.org reports. The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, organization in the United States which is concerned with monitoring campaign finance laws in the U.S. and works for campaign finance reform. ... Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC) is one of the worldâ€™s largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies, with 2. ...

The New Republic magazine has called Barton a "Big Oil lackey." According to TNR writer Michael Crowley, "Barton champions a pro-industry agenda with no apparent concern for appearances. Just two months after [the Gasoline for America's Security Act], he exploited concerns over energy supplies in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to jam through still more energy subsidies, ease environmental regulations on refineries, and press for more offshore oil and gas drilling." * For other uses, see the New Republic disambiguation page. ... Lowest pressure 902 mbar (hPa; 26. ...

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Barton was one of only 11 House members to vote against the Hurricane Katrina Emergency Relief bill passed by Congress and signed by President Bush on September 8, 2005. This came one day after he told Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour that "Whatever you need from the federal government... we'll do everything we can to make it happen sooner rather than later and bigger rather than smaller."[2] September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In Fall 2006, Barton refused to release the Combating Autism Act from House subcommittee despite the unanimous passage by Senate [3]. Radio personality Imus called Barton a "congressional dirtbag." The Combating Autism Act (United States Senate Bill 843), introduced by Senators Rick Santorum and Christopher Dodd, is a proposed legislative measure that would authorize significant expenditures, over the next five years, to combat autism through screening, education, early intervention and prompt referrals for treatment and services. ...

Other endeavors

Sid Meiers Civilization IV (or Civ IV) is a turn-based strategy computer game released in 2005 and developed by lead designer Soren Johnson under the direction of Sid Meier and Meiers studio Firaxis Games. ...

References

^ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~battle/reps/barton.htm
^ http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/04/21/energy.bill.mtbe.ap/
^ http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:Caya6UkgOrkJ:www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7574562/+MTBE&hl=en
^ http://www.chriscmooney.com/blog.asp?Id=1760
^ http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/useftp.cgi?IPaddress=162.140.64.21&filename=71503.wais&directory=/diskc/wais/data/107_house_hearings
^ http://energycommerce.house.gov/107/markups/07172001Markup333.htm
^ http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/Markups/04012003markup861.htm
^ http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/Markups/07092003markup1010.htm
^ http://clerk.house.gov/cgi-bin/vote.asp?year=2001&rollnumber=311
^ http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2003/roll132.xml
^ http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll121.xml
^ http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB110834031507653590-DUadAZBzxH0SiuYH3tOdgUmKXPo_20060207.html?mod=blogs
^ http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/Letters/06232005_1570.htm
^ http://www.chriscmooney.com/blog.asp?Id=1945
^ http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2005/0714letter.pdf
^ http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/Comment/Editorial/072005.html
^ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,163999,00.html
^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/22/AR2005072201658.html
^ http://www.house.gov/science/hot/climate%20dispute/6.30.06%20Houston%20Chronicle.pdf
^ http://www.house.gov/science/hot/climate%20dispute/NAS%20letter%20(Cicerone)%20to%20Barton.pdf
^ http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2005/aug/policy/pt_skeptics.html
^ http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/viewpoints/stories/080105dnedibarton.7b0a5fb.html
^ http://www.house.gov/science/hot/climate%20dispute/index.htm
^ http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2006/07/the-missing-piece-at-the-wegman-hearing/
^ http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8O0O1I00&show_article=1
^ http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/useftp.cgi?IPaddress=162.140.64.21&filename=71503.wais&directory=/diskc/wais/data/107_house_hearings
^ Congress and global warming. Reprint of article by Greenwire (August 2, 2006). Retrieved on 7 August, 2006.
^ Republicans frosty on Gore's global warming warnings. CNN (March 21, 2007). Retrieved on 21 March, 2007.
^ http://www.reason.com/hitandrun/2006/06/rep_joe_barton.shtml

August 2 is the 214th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (215th in leap years), with 151 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... The Cable News Network, commonly known as CNN, is a major cable television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. ... March 21 is the 80th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (81st in leap years). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ...

Contents

Legislative Work

Climate change

Family

Health issues

Quotes

Criticism

Other endeavors

References

External links

Contents

Legislative Work GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Climate change

Family

Health issues

Quotes

Criticism

Other endeavors

References

External links

Legislative Work